Ghost Grey
by kittycosmic
Summary: Rena Grey feels ashamed of her "freakish" powers until she meets The Avengers who help her find her place in the world she thought she'd never fit into. And in the process she tries to help all of them in return, especially Bruce. Rated M for mature themes. Bruce/OC.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Well... here we go. I'm so nervous posting this, haha :/ First of all I don't own any of The Avengers (obviously), but I do own my own original character Rena. Second of all this story will have mature themes such as sex and language. Each chapter will be told through one of the characters POVs, their name will be at the top so you'll be able to see who's pov your reading. Anywaaay... be gentle with me... this is my first story after all :)**

Chapter 1

_Ren:_

I'm flying through the city. And I'm not even close to being the most shocking thing the people below are seeing today. This is understandable though, considering the fact that the blurred image of a young woman flying in and out of buildings like a ghost isn't quite as horrifying as the aliens that are currently falling out of the sky. If I wasn't pretty sure that this was a sign that the world was ending then this would be the best day of my life, since this is after all the first time I've ever not been the reason people are screaming in horror.

My mixed emotions take a back seat when I hear a child crying for their mother. I stop for a split second, my eyes scanning the streets for the kid.

_Bingo._

I spot the little girl when one of aliens does as well, and it's heading right for her. Anger burns me up, helping me fly downwards at a ridiculously fast speed. I'm not good at dealing with innocent people getting hurt. Especially when it's a child.

I reach her just as the alien gets ready to swipe at her. She's in my arms, sobbing over the blow that never even touched her. This is the moment where I realize these aliens aren't mindless, because it's glaring at me, eyes shining with the annoyed realization that I'm not a typical human. Probably because the "typical" humans it's met today don't stand there un-phased after such an attack. They don't smirk arrogantly in his face. And they sure as hell don't have the mutant ability of having his claws go through them, literally like a ghost.

The little girl seems to have realized all of the same things, her sobs having stopped and are now being replaced with a wide eyed look of wonder directed towards me. I push off the ground, flying upwards just a little above our attacker.

"Let's go find your mommy, squirt." I try to say in the must comforting voice I can muster at the moment. I feel relieved when she nods, smiling a little at me. For the first time all day I laugh when she glances down at the alien and sticks her tongue out at him. Then we're off.

* * *

It only takes a few minutes to find her mother. Lily, as she'd so calmly introduced herself to me, points her out among the rubble of the street below. I can't ignore the pain in my chest when I see Lily's mother. I don't even have to look at her face to know that she's heartbroken, screaming Lily's name, most likely assuming she's lost her daughter forever.

"Mommy!" Lily squeals happily as we land next to her. The woman looks up at us, seeming to not know if this is real or not. Can't say I blame her seeing as how I just swooped down from the sky with her little girl in my arms.

Mother and daughter are hugging, and crying, both so happy to be reunited. I'm smiling until I realize that I know Lily's mother. Her name is Victoria, Vickie for short. She's a single mom who works two jobs, and who comes to the diner I work at for coffee just about every day. We've become good acquaintances over the past year. She complains to me about her dead-beat ex, how she loathes her shitty jobs, and adores her baby girl, Lily.

Vickie's smile fades, much like mine, when she realizes who I am. We're both horrified.

Taking a step towards me she asks, "Ren…. You're _'The Ghost'_?".

I cringe instantly. I hate that nickname. My friends call me "Ghost", which sounds so much better to me without the "The" added. I'm a favorite lowly tabloid story among many people though. In fact I've become a bit of an urban myth, or a scary story to tell your kids when you don't want them sneaking out of the house late at night.  
Most of the stories I've read about myself have been true though. I'm well known in bad neighborhoods, stopping rapes and muggings almost every night. There are a few differences between those days and today though.

1. I'm not wearing my mask (Which I'm embarrassed to admit is the Ghostface mask from the Scream movies…. I hate myself a little for never learning to sew).

2. I'm not wearing my usual black jacket and gloves that help hide the fact that I'm a woman.

3. The muggers and rapists who I usually terrorize aren't out today. Which leads to number four….

4. There are still aliens falling out of the sky.

Before I fly off again though I need to know that Lily and Vickie will be safe after I leave them.

"Look, Vickie, I know you're probably terrified of me now that you know I'm a freak. But you––" my words catch in my throat when Vickie throws herself at me, hugging me tightly.

"You're a hero, Ren. You are **not **a freak." I adore how she emphasizes 'not', "I owe you everything. " she whispers against me.

My voice cracks a little when I ask, "Please keep me a secret? Please." I want to cry. But now isn't the time. Vickie nods, her eyes promising more than any words could that "The Ghost" will stay a secret as long as I want.

I point to an empty coffee shop just a few feet away from us.

"You and Lily hide in there for as long as you can. Stay quiet and hide in the back away from the windows."

She nods again in agreement. We both turn to look at Lily who has been surprisingly quiet this whole time. She's staring off into the distance with an almost daydreamy look in her eyes.

"Baby, what are you sta…" Vickie and I both now see what Lily sees.

It's a beautiful blue light shooting up into the sky.

Even from this far away I can see that it's coming from Stark Tower.

At this point Vickie has picked Lily up and they're backing up towards the coffee shop. I hug them both goodbye and take off towards the tower, looking back just long enough to catch Lily giving me a thumbs up.

* * *

I'd overheard the people running for cover on the streets saying something about Iron Man (or as I like to call him, "That disgustingly rich playboy with the cool suit") and other super heroes fighting the aliens as I flew above them. I knew what Iron Man looked like, of course, but I had no idea who these other heroes were, or what they looked like. I knew one thing though, they must've been doing a better job fighting the aliens than me since the closer I flew to Stark's tower the more fallen creatures I came across.

I had to admit that I'd secretly become a fan of Stark over the last few years after hearing about the surprisingly selfless and heroic things he'd done to help people. However, I still felt that at the end of the day that if it really came down to choosing between himself and others Stark would always choose himself.

Just then I see something flying past me out of the corner of my eye.  
"Ha, speak of the devil" I mumble to myself as I see that Iron Man was the object that caught my attention. Maybe I'm imagining it but it looks like he's carrying something…. I squint, trying to see what it is. I can't be sure but it looks like a torpedo, or something similar… maybe a bomb. And it looks like he's taking it towards the blue light that I was headed towards.

With his suit Stark is way faster than I am, and at this point I'm pretty far behind him when I stop flying, letting myself float in mid-air. I'm horrified as it all clicks as to what he's doing. The blue light has seemed to open some portal in the sky, Stark's destination. I'm frozen, too shocked to go forward any further. Everything happens so quickly, and even though I'm not sure of all the details, I know that Tony Stark has just sacrificed himself to save all of us. The man I had believed cared about no one except himself has just died to save the human race. With still no sign of Stark the portal starts to close, right as the tears I've been fighting all day escape my eyes and make trails down my cheeks.

_No… he shouldn't have died…_

Then I see him. Falling out from what I had thought was his death. I scream triumphantly, flying upwards in a happy spiral, my body needing to express how relieved I am. My happy laughter dies out though when I realize he's _literally_falling. That's all it takes to send me soaring his way. I know I won't reach him in time, I know that even if I did I wouldn't be able to hold him in that heavy suit, and I know that I am a freak not a super hero who can do amazing things. But damn it. I have to try.

I'm too far away to be of use, but close enough to see what happens. Someone catches Stark. Someone has leapt into the air, almost destroying a building like it was nothing more than a house of cards in the process, and caught Stark in his gigantic green arms. And when I say gigantic I really truly mean gigantic.

I phase myself through a near-by building, walking over to a large window once I've let myself become solid again. Below me I see that all of the aliens have dropped like flies, and that two men along with my new gigantic green hero are standing around an unmoving Tony Stark.

Pressing my hands to my mouth I let out soft sobs.

_I let him die. I couldn't save him._

Suddenly my hands cover my ears instead of my mouth. It seems unbelievable, so much so that I blink several times to make sure I'm not imagining it, but the green guy literally roared Tony Stark back to life.

I've decided two things in the last few seconds.

1. If I ever meet Tony Stark in person I will admit that everything I ever thought about him was so incredibly wrong, and then give him the hug of his life. Unless some bodyguards stop me, assuming he has some.

2. That green guy… creature… thing…. Well, whatever he is, he's my new hero.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Ren:_

A few weeks after the alien invasion life seemed to return to normal for the most part.

Or, at least as normal as life can get after something like that. I'm too broke to own a television, and too busy to read the news, but I have my co-workers and customers at the diner, which is almost as good.

From what I understand, after the attack Stark and his fellow heroes became known as The Avengers (cool name, I gotta admit). I've heard some people say that they think his teammates now live with him in his tower. It's kind of sweet in a strange way. I know it's probably just to stay close to each other in case of another attack, or whatever, but…. a part of me thinks that maybe they're like a family now.

I'm a sap when it comes to families, mainly because I never really had one. And the fact that, if I'm right, it's a family of "freaks" like me.

Which gives me a little hope. Maybe I'm not destined to be alone for the rest of my life. Maybe I'll find my own little weird family too one day.

"Hey, baby doll come on over here and give me a slice of that yummy pie."

_"And maybe I'll slam this knife into that perverted motherfuckers face.", _I think as I take my sweet time cutting a slice of pie for one of my more disgusting customers, "_I could plead insanity after all. Say the alien attack really fucked with my head and I thought he was one of them coming back to kill me."_

I don't even attempt to fake a smile as I place his plate in front of him. I'm pretty sure his name is Ed, that's what I think I've heard some of his buddies call him at least. This piece of shit comes in here every few days, always trying to intimidate me with his comments about my body, sometimes slapping my ass as he walks past me, or leering at me to the point that I imagine phasing my hand through his body and ripping his heart out.

Unfortunately, I need this job, and need to keep my identity secret if I don't want to have to go on the run again.

I turn to walk back behind the counter after leaving the plate in front of Ed. I squeak in surprise when I feel myself being pulled backwards onto his lap. The bastard had grabbed me by the back of my skirt, now holding one arm across my thighs while using his free hand to grasp the back of my hair, holding me in place.

I glare at him when he says, "I know you want it, little girl."

The place isn't completely empty. I think they're sitting in the back of the diner where I can't see, but I could've sworn that about an hour ago one of my fellow waitresses, before her shift ended, had seated and served two men.

I'd told her to go ahead and go home since it was already three in the morning and the only thing people wanted at this hour was coffee and maybe whatever deserts we had left. Looking back on it I felt incredibly stupid for leaving myself alone here, making myself vulnerable to creeps like Ed who most likely wouldn't have had the guts to attack me if someone else was here.

However…. I happen to have a lovely little magic trick that will most likely scare him to death. If I'm lucky.

Ed forces me to look at him in the eyes as he leans in closer, my response is to growl in anger. I can smell alcohol on his breath. I'm just about to phase out of his grip when I hear movement behind me. Ed's beady eyes suddenly look pissed, his mouth becoming a tight thin line of displeasure.

"Sir, I'm going to need you to take your hands off that young lady right now."

Whoever says this does so with calm composure, but I can sense a deep anger underneath that.

Ed still won't let me look away from him, forcing me to watch him laugh at the man who had spoken.

"And who the fuck are you two? You think you can just waltz over and try to ruin my good time? Give me one fuckin' good reason why I should let this little bitch get away with being such a tease, trust me she deserves a good punishment." He winks at me during that last sentence.

A different voice from the one before has a response, "Because, you're making both of us very angry. And, trust me, you wouldn't like either of us when we're angry."

There's a tense moment of silence after that, something about those words seeming much more like a promise rather than an empty threat.

"Look fellas… how about we make a deal? You both look reasonable. I'll have a go with her first then I'll let you two at it. We can hold her down for each other, and no one will ever have to know, no one will believe a slut over three up standing citizens like us."

I scream then.

My anger over not being able to use my power and show this guy who he's messing with, his belief that I'm just a piece of meat, and his nonchalant attitude about gang raping me makes me lose it.

I free my hands and scrape my nails across his face, drawing a good bit of blood. The next thing I know he's thrown me onto the floor where I slam my head and bust my lip a little.

Time seems to slow as I see him rearing back to kick me in the stomach.

Time slows down just a little more when I see a blonde haired man, who for some reason makes me think of what every boy scout dreams of growing up to become, slam his fist into Ed's face.

When the edges of my vision start to go black I realize that time didn't really slow down like I thought it had… I was just in the process of blacking out from where I hit my head.

* * *

I moan a bit when I start to wake up.

My head hurts horribly, a pounding kind of hurt, like a million little hammers are going to work inside my head. I peer through my lashes, immediately thankful that some kind soul made sure the room was very dimly lighted. I whimper in pain when I try to open my eyes fully now, closing them again almost instantly. It just hurts too much at the moment.

"Shhh, it's okay.", someone soothes as they run a rough hand gently across the side of my face to my hair. I'm too tired to pull away. So tired that I allow the feeling of having my hair stroked help send me back to dreamland.

* * *

I wake up fully a few hours later.

The pain has numbed a lot. In fact… I feel pretty damn good, most likely because someone gave me some sort of painkillers.

The room is completely dark now except for the glow of a lamp and a laptop on the desk across the room from me.

A man with wild curly hair, salt and pepper colored, sits there. He's peering intensely at the computer, I can see whatever he's reading reflecting in his glasses. Even though everything seems a little extra nicer thanks to the drugs I'm pretty sure he's incredibly handsome even if I wasn't feeling _"so good"_.

After staring at him for what seems like ages I finally ask what I've been wondering.

"Are you going to kill me?"


End file.
